Spending on cars resurgent
Spending on motor vehicles bounced back in March to more than $200 million following a fall because of lockdown disruptions the previous month, according to Stats NZ.
Seasonally adjusted retail card spending for the sector hit $201m last month, an increase of $7.9m, or 4.1 per cent, when compared with February 2021.
The monthly figure for motor vehicles was $200m in January but slipped to $193m the next month before the latest increase.
In actual terms, consumers spent $210m on vehicles in March, up from $181m in February and 37.6 per cent more than the $153m forked out in March 2020.
Across all industries, an extra $53m, or 0.9 per cent, was spent in March compared to the previous month.
Kathy Hicks, retail statistics manager, says: “Despite spending constraints for the first week of March due to Auckland’s return to alert level-three lockdown, card sales rebounded from a lacklustre February.”
Motor vehicles was among four of the six retail industries to enjoy an increase in seasonally adjusted card spending.
Durables had the largest surge in value following an increase of $29m, or 1.8 per cent, and fuel sales climbed by $5.8m, or 1.1 per cent.
Consumables suffered the biggest drop in March, down $74m, or 3.3 per cent, from February.
The total value of electronic card spending, including services and other non-retail, jumped by $152m, or two per cent.
In actual terms, cardholders made 159m transactions across all industries in March 2021, with an average value of $50 per transaction.
Quarterly dip
Seasonally adjusted retail card spending was $17 billion in the March 2021 quarter, down $330m, or 1.9 per cent, from the December 2020 quarter.
Spending on motor vehicles fell $16m, or 2.7 per cent, over the same period. Fuel sales also tumbled by $32m, or two per cent.
Hicks says: “With New Zealand moving up Covid alert levels several times over the quarter, card spending was inevitably affected with all but the long-lasting durables industry sales falling from the December quarter.”
Year-on-year, the total spend in the March 2021 quarter was $100m, or 0.6 per cent, higher than the same three months of 2020.
